A sigh escaped my lips as my eyes went through the contents of the letter again. It was written in the usual flowery prose utilised by the nobility, but the intent was clear - come home.

The side of the paper crumpled as I held it tighter.

Some time had passed since Sir Donovan went back to the capital. From the contents of the letter, he must have informed my parents of our discussion with the Marquise during his visit.

I raised my head to look at the child sitting under the tree immersed in her book. Her lime-green eyes glittered as her eyes flitted across the pages. In her mind, she was probably traversing across the sands together with the heroine of the story.

Lady Liliana was eccentric; she often used words nobody knew and acted childishly at times. It was almost ludicrous to think that such a young child like her already had her future partner decided, and it was the First Prince at that.

‘Will she be able to do it?’ I had often wondered. However, if it was her, I am sure she would be able to surprise us. Things were no doubt going to get busier for her from now on, but thankfully, the young prince seemed to care for her.

I leaned back on the tree as I placed the letter on my lap.

Lady Liliana was moving on to the next stage of her life, but what about me?

"What should I do...?"

*****

My full name is Diana Cia Reagan, the only daughter of the Baron of Lafveld, Issac Reagan. It was said that the Reagan family had existed even before the founding of the nation, but the truth was we only managed a small piece of land in the countryside. To get by with the meagre taxes the villagers could afford was impossible, so for generations, our family had sent their children to join the Royal Knight Order to supplement our income. My father was the same, and while working as a knight, he met my mother who was working in the Royal Palace at that time. After I was born, my mother and I moved to the land managed by the then Baron, my grandfather. After he passed away, as the eldest son in the family, my father inherited his title and land. However, he decided to move his family back to the capital as his career as a knight was starting to take off and he was more financially secure. Hence, while he focused on his career as a knight, he left the management of the land to his brothers.

I was twelve years old when I finally stepped into the capital and was officially introduced into polite society. My mother, who had yearned for the dazzling life of high society even when she was surrounded by acres of corn, threw her life into socialising with the noblewomen, taking the chance to participate in every event she could. She brought me along to the events initially, but it was soon obvious to everyone that I was unable to fit in with the delicate young ladies brought up with a silver spoon in their mouth.

The only solace I could find was in my father’s workplace.

Back in the countryside, I had learned swordsmanship from my grandfather who had also been a knight in his prime. And every day, between breaks from training, I would listen to the stories of their time in knighthood from my uncles and older cousins. Naturally, I developed a curiosity towards the job that almost all the men in my family had taken up before.

As I would often drop by the training grounds to visit my father, I grew familiar with some of the knights and their squires. One thing led to another, and I was found to possess the talent for swordsmanship.

While female knights were uncommon, it was not against the law, and I was successfully accepted into the Royal Knight Order under the Golden Lion Platoon as a squire when I was thirteen. My mother protested against it initially as she felt that it was improper and dangerous for a lady to become a knight. However, my father supported me and was elated that his daughter was following in his footsteps. Unable to argue against both of us, my mother could only reluctantly accept my decision.

As a squire, I was to live in the dorms with the rest of the squires and follow a stringent training plan. Occasionally, we would follow the knights out for missions to gain field experience. While life as a squire could not be described as ‘easy’, it was a place where I was able to get used to.

Around a year after I was appointed as a squire, I was called into the platoon leader's office.

It was the first time I was called into the office alone, so I took a deep breath to calm myself before knocking on the mahogany wooden door.

"Sir. This is Diana. I heard that you have called for me."

"Ah, yes. You came at just the right time, Diana. Hold on a minute," a youthful voice replied from behind the door. There were sounds of papers being tidied before footsteps approached.

The door opened to reveal a youth with wavy dark brown hair that grew long and curled at the nape of his neck. His eyes crinkled at the corners as he flashed a friendly smile. I recognised him as Sir Donovan Warren Swenson, the younger brother of the Knight Commander of the Royal Knight Order and the vice-leader of the Golden Lion Platoon.

“The platoon leader is out on a mission, but I have his instructions with me so I will brief you in his stead.”

He pushed the door open and gestured towards the room.

“Come in and we will talk further. I haven’t had the time to clean up the room, so please be careful.”

I followed him into the room and stood in front of his work desk with my hands placed behind my back as he flipped through the files in search of something.

The platoon leader was a man who preferred to move his body than stay in the office, so it was often up to Sir Donovan to handle all the paperwork. It seems like things have become hectic for him, as stacks of files were scattered over the tables and loose pieces of paper spilled onto the floor. There were even opened bottles of ink placed haphazardly on the sofa and curiously perched on the top of bookcases.

After letting my eyes wander around the room for a moment, I refocused on the topic on hand. “Is this about a mission, sir?”

“Yes. There is an urgent mission we hope that you can take up. If you accept, we will need you to move out within twenty-four hours,” Sir Donovan replied while his hands were still rummaging through the files and papers.

“I understand. And who will I be following for the mission?”

The man hesitated. “You will be working alone for this mission.”

I tilted my head in puzzlement. “Alone? But I am still a squire. Isn’t it too early for me to work on missions alone?”

“You are right. We will usually not do this, but this is a special request which only you will be able to fulfil.”

He drummed his fingers on the table as he thought of what to say.

“Have you heard about the young lady who fell down the stairs during their majesties’ wedding celebration?”

“Yes, I have heard of it.”

The incident he spoke of was huge enough to be impossible to not know of. Apparently, a young noble girl had gotten injured during the wedding celebration and caused a huge fuss. The knights were even mobilised because of the incident and we were all placed on high alert for a few days. The girl seemed to have been brought home immediately by her parents after that. If I did not recall wrongly, the girl was from a prominent Marquis family too.

“Is this mission related to the young lady?”

“Yes. Lord Remington has made an urgent request for a knight to be assigned to her as her bodyguard. However, as his daughter is unusually sensitive, he specified for a female knight closest to her age. And you are the only one we can think of that fits the bill." He paused as he studied me with his hazel eyes.

“So what do you think about it? Do you want to give it a try?”

A bodyguard mission... It seemed to be fairly straightforward. Furthermore, I will be acting as the bodyguard of a young child so it didn’t look too difficult. I could understand why they would allow me to take up the mission alone.

I nodded. “I will accept the mission. How long will it last?”

To my surprise, the man avoided my gaze. “It seems like they have some situation on their side...” Then he held up four fingers.

I furrowed my brows at the sudden guessing game.

“Four weeks?”

He shook his head with a terse face.

It couldn’t be four days as that would be too short to require a special request for help. I pursed my lips. Then it could only mean...

“Sir, four months would impact my training. I might have to reconsider if the mission is going to take that long.”

Hearing my reply, the man's body shook as he gave a chuckle. My brows twitched as I silently watched the man.

"I'm sorry. It's just that, I just realised what a serious personality you had."

After calming down, the man gave a complicated look as he finally answered, “After you finish your mission, you will be able to get knighted immediately.” His eyes bored into me as he emphasised his words, “That is a special consideration that we are willing to do for you.”

My brows creased into a line. A mission where I would become a knight after completing? Something like this was unheard of. A squire’s training took years to finish, how could just one mission be able to replace that?

"While on the mission, you are to continue your training with guards in the Marquis's place. As they are staying in a land that is constantly under attack by magical beasts, their training standards can be assured. The King has also granted his approval for this, so you do not have to worry."

"Even the King?" I was bewildered. Why did the issue of getting a bodyguard for a Marquis's daughter require the permission of a king? But that would also mean that it was a mission I would be unable to refuse.

Starting to get tired of all the beating around the bush, I was unable to contain the sarcasm in my voice, "So, how long exactly is the mission going to be?"

A-ha! Seemingly having finally found the document he was looking for, he pulled out a thin folder and passed it to me.

"That will be... four years.”

*****

The young lady that I was to take care of was the daughter of the Marquis of Cruador, Liliana Gracia Remington. Although rumours about her were in abandon, information was scarce as her parents were protective and kept the child within the Remington estate most of the time. The only thing of note was that she was a Magician.

There was such a saying around, "Magic is controlled by words; and uncontrolled magic by emotions".

The young lady had a high magic aptitude, but until she had her charge, she would be unable to control it. Since young, her magic had manifested itself when she experienced strong negative emotions. Anger, sadness, pain - any of those could be a trigger to a magical phenomenon. The earth could shake, the plants could wilt - or a blazing fire may consume half the mansion.

To prevent an accident like the fire from happening again, her parents took pains to raise her in a safe environment by building a special anti-magic house just for her. They tried to keep her happy by giving in to her whims, so she was surrounded by the fanciest toys and dresses that even princesses from other countries would be envious about. As the young child has shown signs of rejection towards unfamiliar people, they were also careful to keep her away from people who might accidentally upset her. The only person allowed to stay with her was her nanny who had taken care of her since she was an infant. However, her nanny was getting on in years, and with the accident at the Royal Palace, they felt that a bodyguard was necessary for the child, hence my appearance.

And that was the background I was provided for this mission.

Just from reading her profile, I could tell that she was going to be a difficult person to work with. To think that I will have to endure it for four years - this mission was probably going to be a training ground for my mental fortitude.

Apart from the length of the mission, there was something else that made it even more troublesome than it already was. Although the request was for someone to protect the young lady, in name, I was to be her new personal maid responsible for taking care of her daily needs. And that too was part of the requirements given by the Marquis as he did not want his daughter to be burdened by having a bodyguard around her.

While still holding reservations about the mission, I got on the carriage that would bring me to the land at the border of the country.

After a slow and bumpy carriage ride that lasted for days, I arrived at the Marquis’ mansion.

As the Lord and Lady were not around, I was brought to the young lady by the Head Butler of the estate, a man nearing his fifties with greying hair. Just like how it was explained to me, the young lady was staying in an isolated house away from the main mansion.

“Pleased to meet you, Lady Liliana. I am Diana, and I will be taking care of you from today onwards. Please let me know if you have any orders.”

Dressed in the standard black and white maid uniform issued in the Marquis’s estate, I clumsily gave a bow with my hands placed in front of my stomach. As it had been some time since I was expected to act as a ‘lady’, I borrowed a book on the expected manners and decorum expected of a maid serving high-ranking noble ladies to study on the way to the March. However, reading and doing were very different things. It was just my first day on the job and I could already tell that it was going to be an uphill battle.

Seconds passed as I continued to keep my head low.

The young lady hadn’t said a word since my introduction. Could I have upset her already?

“Liliana, you need to let her know when it is alright to raise her head,” a tired voice prompted gently.

“Ah. Is that so?” the surprised voice of a young child rang out.

“Erm, please raise your head,” with slight hesitance, the voice commanded.

“Thank you, my lady.” I heaved a small sigh of relief as I raised my head. Then, my eyes widened as I took in the figure of the girl. The young lady that sat staring at me from her bed was so frail that she was sitting up while supported by an older woman whom I concluded was her nanny. There were obvious dark eye circles around her eyes, and her lips were pale and so dry it cracked at the corners. And even though it was already in the middle of the day, she was still wearing a thin white chemise. Her nanny too had a ghastly complexion that was not too different from her young charge.

The little girl gave me a once over with bloodshot eyes and mumbled, “Did such a character exist in ‘Resonant Hearts’?”

I blinked blankly in return. What was she talking about?

After I was dismissed, I heard from the Head Butler that ever since the young lady had woken up from the bump on her head from falling down the stairs, she had been behaving peculiarly, like climbing onto the windowsill, making strange faces to the mirror and muttering strange things like denying she was Liliana Gracia Remington. That had caused a great deal of alarm, but after she calmed down, it seemed like she could still remember the things that happened in the past and recognised the people around her. As the bump was treated by the doctors quickly, there wasn’t supposed to be any lasting issue, and they thought that the young lady would return to normal after a while.

However, as soon as she returned home, she grew a high fever that lasted for days. She had only just recovered from her illness hence her poor physical health. During the days where she was nearing death’s door in her feverish state, the people in the estate were also experiencing their own nightmare. Every night, for the past week, magical beasts attacked the estate in a frenzy. Flying, slithering, climbing - they were of different types and shapes, but all equally aggressive towards the humans who tried to stop their approach.

I had seen magical beasts up close when I followed the knights out for their missions, and something I learnt was that while most magical beasts avoided humans and their dwellings, those that would turn aggressive towards humans were extremely difficult to deal with. They do not bleed when they get injured and have enormous amounts of stamina. There were some who could even use magic. The only way to stop them was to injure them so seriously that they break down into black sand.

With the Marquis and the Marquise around, they were able to control the situation, but what was more troubling was the aftermath caused by the rampage of the magical beasts. Damaged infrastructure was a big enough headache on its own, but more than that, it was incredibly difficult to reassure the townspeople and villagers from the surrounding areas. To calm them, the Remington couple had to increase the number of patrols and personally went around the villages and towns to speak to the populace.

And the real reason why I was urgently requested to come, the reason why even the king was interested in her - was because the young lady was suspected to have a connection to the appearance of the raging magical beasts.

The connection was still not confirmed, as it was the first time something like that happened, but as the young lady often caused magical phenomena during her outbursts, it was suspected that the current situation was one of the ways her magic manifested itself.

But in any case, this possible connection made my role as the young lady’s ‘protector’ even more needed than before.

And thus, my life as a ‘maid’ started.